Product Review: Catelli Gluten Free Lasagna Sheets

I was asked by my mother to take care of dinner last night as the whole family was going to be together and we needed to find a kid friendly dinner for the little ones. So we thought that lasagna would be a good choice since it consists of noodles, meat and cheese. Normally I would make my own noodles when I am making lasagna, as it is so easy and fun, but my pasta maker was at my house in another town and so that was out of the question. Instead we headed to the grocery store looking for gluten free lasagna noodles. I stopped buying them when I started making my own and was not particularily enthused about having to use brown rice flour noodles, but that seemed my only option in the gluten free section. Upon browsing the normal aisles I noticed that the Catelli gluten free pasta was with the normal pasta and they had lasagna sheets. I thought I would try these instead of the brown rice ones and see how they worked. They seemed small, so we bought several boxes just in case. 

                                                   

This lasagna was one of the best I have had in a long time. The noodles are no boil, but I soaked them in hot water for a couple minutes just so they did not soak too much of the sauce. I used my normal meat/veggie sauce and cheese combinations and used almost 2 boxes of noodles for 3 layers in an 8x13" pan. It cooked for an hour at 350, and came out perfectly browned. 

All of us enjoyed it, (gluten and non gluten eaters) including my picky eating nieces. It was a perfectly saucy, cheesy lasagna. It was more like the gluten filled lasagna my mom made when we were kids, as I find most gluten free noodles soak up too much sauce and become soggy. These held their shape and did not fall apart. They easily held the whole lasagna together and when cooled slightly cut into perfect pieces. It was a wonderful family dinner. 

I will keep these noodles in the cupboard for days when I am away from my pasta machine, or just feeling too lazy to make my own noodles. 

Product Review: Full of Beans Spicy Carrot Cake Mix

                                                   

Going through my cupboard today trying to find something to make to take to an afternoon tea and came across the package of Carrot Cake Mix from Full Of Beans. I had all of the ingredients on hand so I decided to make these as mini muffins instead of a full carrot cake to make it easier for people to eat. 

I was worried as I was mixing the first ingredients together as it was very dry looking and was not coming together as a cake mix should. But once I added the grated carrots and crushed pineapple it miraculously came together into a sticky, gooey batter. I sprayed my mini muffin tin with cooking spray rather than use liners and filled the cups to just below the top. I baked them for approximately 18-20 minutes or until the toothpick came out clean and the top was golden brown. The whole mix made more than 48 mini muffins.

I tried one hot out of the oven as a quality control before I continued baking the rest of the batter. IT WAS AMAZING! These were the first muffins that tasted exactly like the regular ones. They were sweet, without being too sweet, and did not even need the traditional cream cheese icing. They have a good combination of spice and carrot flavour and the pineapple is not a noticeable, just adds sweetness.  The top of the muffin was even crunchy like a muffin top should be. Since making them this afternoon I have eaten more of them than I care to admit and I am not sure they will make it to the tea. 

I will definitely be buying this one again, in fact I think this will be a staple in my pantry from now on.

Product Review: Mi-Del Premade Crumb Crusts

Last week I found a new product in my local Loblaws and got very excited.

                             

I saw this and immediately thought Banana Cream Pie. So tonights dessert was a wonderful Banana Cream Pie. 

                                                                        

   

This crust stayed crisp, even though the pie filling was hot when it went into the crust and had a nice chocolate flavor. It was nice and thin, but held together and did not fall apart when taking the pieces out of the pan. A little sweet, but most crumb crusts are. I balanced the sweetness out with a thick layer of fresh bananas on the bottom of the pie. This crust also comes in graham and ginger cookie flavours. I will definitely buy this one again!